A fake organ mimics what happens in the blink of an eye

Faux eyeball surface could be used to test treatments for eye diseases

BABY BLUE Using human eye cells, researchers fashioned an artificial eye surface that could be used to study and test treatments for eye diseases.

Free-Photos/PIxabay

AUSTIN, Texas — A new artificial organ gives a new meaning to the phrase “making eyes.”

For the first time, researchers used human cells to build a model of the surface of the eye that’s equipped with a fake eyelid that mimics blinking. This synthetic eye could be used to study and test treatments for eye diseases, researchers reported February 16 in a news conference at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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